Unfortunately I haven't had time to get through Cradle to Cradle yet, and I have to be at work very soon (I plan on reading more when I get home). I've only read the introduction, and as such I can't fully answer the blog question. However, I can say that based on what I've read so far I'm excited to continue reading.
All the books/articles we've read thus far in the semester have undoubtedly been interesting, but pretty grim. While this one also seems as though it will confront us very honestly (as shown by the first few pages where the authors discuss all the hazards of home comforts such as the armchair, small children's toys, etc), it also seems more hopeful.
I had never heard the terms 'technical' or 'biological nutrient' until picking up this book. After reading about these concepts- that a technical nutrient is a product that can be broken down and circulated infinitely in industrial cycles, and a biological nutrient as something that will reenter the water/soil without leaving synthetic materials and toxins, I wondered why I hadn't heard of them sooner. By no means am I in the inner circles of environmentalism, but given how "duh" these ideas seem (for lack of a better word), it's surprising that more of the public doesn't know consider them.
I really like what the authors had to say about "being less bad." It echoes what we've been discussing in class- that what we're doing isn't nearly enough and that the targets we're setting with international treaties/agreements such as the Kyoto Protocol aren't where the need to be. Thus, as we've also discussed, the whole system needs to change. So far the book is more than just depressing facts that leave us thinking "Where do we go from here?", it's an actual dialogue that appears as though it may have some concrete proposals for solutions. I look forward to reading more about their ideas and what they've deemed as the new industrial revolution.
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